Mitch Daniels Slams Trump’s Redistricting Push: “It’s High Season for Hypocrisy”

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering the USA

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Image Source: Michael Conroy/AP

Former Indiana Governor and GOP elder statesman Mitch Daniels has come out forcefully against efforts to redraw congressional districts in Indiana ahead of the 2026 midterms, criticizing President Donald Trump’s push for partisan redistricting and warning of further erosion of democratic norms.

Daniels, a respected figure within the Republican Party and former president of Purdue University, told POLITICO in an exclusive interview that he doesn’t “see the point” of redistricting in a state that already overwhelmingly favors Republicans. “It would just be wrong,” Daniels said. “People there have a right to pick the person they want.”

His remarks come amid a broader national fight over redistricting as Trump and Vice President JD Vance urge state legislatures to redraw maps to favor the GOP. Vance recently visited Indiana to encourage lawmakers to create as many as 10 new Republican seats, despite the state already holding seven out of nine seats in favor of the party.

Daniels called out Trump directly, saying the former president “could’ve just kept quiet,” and accused him of turning redistricting into a “partisan wrangle.” But he didn’t spare Democrats, noting their past use of gerrymandering tactics. “It’s high season for hypocrisy,” Daniels added. “Democrats have done this too.”

While Trump’s allies are pressing for immediate action, Indiana Governor Mike Braun has yet to commit to calling a special legislative session for redistricting. Daniels warned such a move would likely be seen as overtly partisan and could require “torturing the lines” to gain an additional seat.

“The ideal ought to be districts which make geographic sense,” Daniels said, adding that maps should “cross as few jurisdictional lines as possible.”

Despite Republican supermajorities in the Indiana Legislature, Daniels noted that forcing further redistricting could backfire politically and damage public trust in fair representation.

Daniels has long positioned himself as a voice of moderation within the Republican Party. In a Washington Post op-ed last year, he cautioned against the dangers of entrenched single party dominance and expressed concerns that modern gerrymandering, combined with ideological clustering, is undermining electoral competition.

“You don’t get the balanced, competitive districts that many of us believe would make for a healthier political system,” he told POLITICO.

As one of the key architects behind the Indiana GOP’s legislative dominance, Daniels’ opposition to redistricting efforts marks a significant internal rebuke of the Trump-led strategy. Whether his call for restraint will resonate within the party remains to be seen.